Fitness options to expand this weekend

During a Fitness in the Park class, yoga instructor Kathy Verstegen (left) leads a group as they perform a shoulder stand on April 21, 2011 in Travis Park. (Edward A. Ornelas)

Just in time for the warm weather, the city is offering more ways for San Antonio residents to get outside and get moving.

Fitness in the Park Beginning Saturday, March 24 and running through May 12, the spring session of Fitness in the Park brings free exercise classes to 17 city parks.

Yoga, Zumba, boot camps, functional training, sports conditioning and adaptive exercise are among the activities on the schedule, as well as organized hiking and walking on park trails.

The Parks and Recreation Department is partnering with more than a dozen partners to offer the program, which began in spring 2011. It’s an initiative of the Mayor’s Fitness Council and is funded by a federal grant aimed at reducing obesity in San Antonio.

Salado Creek Hike & Bike ‘The city’s “emerald necklace” of green space is expanding again with the completion of two new phases of the Salado Creek Hike & Bike trail on the Northeast Side.

Phase I of the trail covers 2.9 miles from Comanche Park to Willow Springs Golf Course near the AT&T Center. Phase II runs 2.6 miles from the golf course to Jack White Park, 3803 Seguin Road.

A ribbon-cutting with District 2 City Councilwoman Ivy R. Taylor is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday, March 24 at Martin Luther King Park, 3503 Martin Luther King Drive.

The projects, both Metropolitan Planning Organization programs, were paid for by “federal funding and other City of San Antonio revenue sources,” according to a press release.